LCR selects Stagecoach and Go-Ahead

LCR selects Stagecoach and Go-Ahead

Stagecoach has been selected to operate the franchised bus network based in St Helens while Go-Ahead will operates services in Wirral   Mayor Steve Rotheram: buses aren’t a ‘nice to have’ – they’re a lifeline   Stagecoach and Go-Ahead Group have been selected as the first operators to run the...
Public transport’s ‘global family gathering’

Public transport’s ‘global family gathering’

Dubai will host the UITP Summit on April 21-23. We spoke to UITP’s secretary general, Mohamed Mezghani, about the event and what visitors can look forward to   Mohamed Mezghani: “For me, the Summit is about people”   Mohamed, the UITP Summit is heading to Dubai in April, less than...
Out now: The latest issue of Passenger Transport

Out now: The latest issue of Passenger Transport

What’s inside the latest edition of Passenger Transport:     LEAD STORY NPR rail improvements ‘will actually happen’ More than a decade after the Northern Powerhouse Rail project was first proposed, the government has unveiled a three-phase plan for its delivery   NEWS Cornwall probes bus regulation options Market engagement...
NPR rail improvements  ‘will actually happen’

NPR rail improvements ‘will actually happen’

More than a decade after the Northern Powerhouse Rail project was first proposed, the government has unveiled a three-phase plan for its delivery   The plans would see Manchester Piccadilly expanded   A three-phase plan for the long-promised Northern Powerhouse Rail project was unveiled by the government this week. The...
100 more bus routes in Wales and £2 fare cap?

100 more bus routes in Wales and £2 fare cap?

Labour has pledged an enhanced bus offer for Wales if it wins this May’s Senedd election, but will this be matched funding? Rhodri Clark reports   Welsh bus fares for adults aged 22 to 59 would be capped at £2   Labour has pledged 100 more bus routes in Wales...
Let’s get on and fix rail replacement

Let’s get on and fix rail replacement

  A new report by CMAC has shed light on an often overlooked but frequent aspect of the railway’s customer service proposition   2026 has already brought two major shocks. FA Cup holders, my beloved, Crystal Palace, being knocked out of this year’s tournament by non-league Macclesfield, 117 places below...
Putting customers front and centre

Putting customers front and centre

  Those taking decisions should always put themselves in the shoes of the passenger and ask whether what they will think reasonable   Average bus speeds in central London are now down to 7.4mph (picture: Shutterstock)   It was interesting to see the latest figures for bus passenger numbers (PT351)....
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New faces at Stagecoach South

New faces at Stagecoach South

Operator announces new appointments within its management team   Paul Denne, Stagecoach South’s Engineering Manager for Andover and Winchester is to retire   Stagecoach South has announced a number of new appointments within its bus business which serves Hampshire, Surrey and West Sussex. Katie Wagstaff is appointed operations manager in Basingstoke. Wagstaff began her career...
West Yorks reveals mass transit plans

West Yorks reveals mass transit plans

Nine corridors identified   WYCA says no decision has been made on vehicle type   Plans for a transformational multi-billion pound mass transit system have been revealed by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority. Forming part of a wider transport strategy, the mass transit proposals aim to improve connectivity for up to 675,000 people in the...
Crawley vaccination clinic is on the bus

Crawley vaccination clinic is on the bus

Metrobus vehicle is transformed into mobile vaccination unit     The NHS and Go-Ahead subsidiary Metrobus have launched one of the UK’s first Covid-19 Mobile Vaccination Units in a bus today in Crawley, targetting hard-to-reach and vulnerable communities. Metrobus and the Alliance for Better Care, which represents GPs across Crawley, Horsham, mid-Sussex and East Surrey,...
Stagecoach sets out GM partnership plans

Stagecoach sets out GM partnership plans

Two-year bus programme would assist pandemic recovery, claims group   Stagecoach has pledged an accelerated roll out of electric buses in Greater Manchester as part of its proposals   Stagecoach has set out a package of proposed partnership measures in Greater Manchester to help the post-Covid acceleration of bus use in the region and act...
Laura Shoaf chairs Urban Transport Group

Laura Shoaf chairs Urban Transport Group

West Midlands transport chief is new chair of Urban Transport Group   Laura Shoaf   Laura Shoaf, managing director of Transport for West Midlands (TfWM), has been named as the new chair of the Urban Transport Group. Shoaf, who was previously vice-chair, has over 20 years’ experience leading in urban transport planning in the UK...
SPT says transport is key to Covid recovery

SPT says transport is key to Covid recovery

Transport partnership calls for support from the Scottish Government   Glasgow Subway patronage has fallen by around 90% as a result of Covid-19   SPT, the regional transport partnership for the Strathclyde area of West of Scotland, has called on the Scottish Government to put public transport at the forefront of this week’s budget announcement....
Raising the bar

Raising the bar

  Let’s reshape the public transport experience for the benefit of all   There is still no guarantee a wheelchair user will actually be able to make the journeys they want   The deadline to end the sale of polluting cars has been brought forward to 2030. With the cost of electric vehicles still huge,...
Summer recovery: signpost for the future?

Summer recovery: signpost for the future?

Passenger numbers recover to 44% in July-September quarter. Chris Cheek offers his analysis   The bus use figures for last summer are dreadful, but they are a great deal better than the previous quarter   A strong recovery in bus patronage during the summer quarter has been confirmed by the publication of the latest quarterly...
World’s first hydrogen deckers enter service

World’s first hydrogen deckers enter service

‘This marks a significant milestone in our industry’ says boss of First Bus Scotland   The new 60-seat double deckers are set to transform the air of ‘the granite city’   The world’s first fleet of double decker hydrogen buses will be officially launched into service tomorrow in Aberdeen. Operated by First Bus in a...
Bus operators launch vaccination shuttles

Bus operators launch vaccination shuttles

Go North East and The Harrogate Bus Company step in to make travel easier for those attending jab appointments   Go North East’s ‘ConnectorShuttle’ serves the NHS Nightingale Hospital North East   Go North East and The Harrogate Bus Company have this week launched dedicated vaccination shuttle bus services. Go North East’s new ‘ConnectorShuttle’ serves...
Achieving a step change in mobility

Achieving a step change in mobility

  A step change in mobility is required but it won’t be easy to deliver. It should deliver a multiplicity of transport modes and solutions with a clear focus on sustainable choices for a range of trip purposes and types   In many ways the history of the 20th century has been the recreation of...
Good riddance 2020, but what will 2021 bring?

Good riddance 2020, but what will 2021 bring?

  Few will be sad to see the back of 2020. Here are my hopes and fears for the New Year   Normally time flies when you’re having fun and my traditional ‘Hopes and Fears’ for the year ahead comes round as rapidly as Boris changing his mind, but these last 12 months of unrelenting...